HomiCrew

Your rights

District of Columbia

District of Columbia · home improvement

Your rights in the District of Columbia

Information, not legal adviceRules checked Oct 4, 2026

3 business days to cancel

If they sold it at or near your home

Cancel in writing by midnight of the third business day. Money back within 10 days, and no cancellation fee.

Some sales are excepted, such as emergency work you ask for in a signed waiver.

The exception, in the rule's words
  • An emergency: you asked for the goods or services without delay because of an emergency, the contractor in good faith made a substantial start on the work before you cancelled, any goods cannot be returned in substantially as good condition, and you separately signed a statement captioned 'WAIVER OF RIGHT TO CANCEL'.
Read the full rule

When it applies

The seller (the contractor or someone acting for them) personally solicited the sale at or near your home and you gave your agreement or offer to buy there. It does not cover a sale made on an existing revolving credit account, or one that follows earlier negotiations between you and the seller at a business establishment at a fixed location where the goods or services are offered or shown for sale.

If the contractor sold you the job at or near your home, you can cancel in writing until midnight of the third business day after you sign. A mailed notice counts once it is posted. The agreement must carry a notice captioned 'BUYERS RIGHT TO CANCEL', and until the contractor meets these rules you can cancel by any means. The contractor must return your payments within 10 days and cannot keep a cancellation fee.

DC AG: Home Solicitation Sales Law · read on oag.dc.gov · checked Oct 4, 2026 (official source, opens in a new tab)

License number

On the contract and ads

A DC home improvement contractor should hold a DC business license as a Home Improvement Contractor, with a bond and insurance.

Read the full rule

A DC home improvement contractor should hold a DC business license from DLCP as a Home Improvement Contractor (or General Contractor), and the license number must be on your contract. The Home Improvement Contractor license requires a $25,000 bond and liability insurance. Only a licensed home improvement contractor, or its licensed salesperson, may take any payment before the job is fully finished.

Who needs one: Anyone who enters or offers to enter into a home improvement contract in DC. That means work priced at $300 or more (or several contracts with the same homeowner totaling $300 or more within 12 months) to add to, alter, improve, remodel, repair or replace a single-family or two-family home (including an individual condo or co-op unit) or an adjacent structure such as a driveway, fence, garage, porch, deck or swimming pool.

Who doesn't

  • Building a new home
  • Selling or installing appliances, materials, household furnishings or equipment that are not made part of the house
  • Licensed electricians, plumbers and gasfitters, and refrigeration and air conditioning mechanics, when the work stays within their licensed trade
  • A homeowner doing work on their own residential property

Where the number must appear

  • the contract
  • advertising
  • the business card or other written note a contractor or salesperson must give you on request

Issued by: Department of Licensing and Consumer Protection (DLCP): Basic Business License, Home Improvement Contractor category

16 DCMR Chapter 8 · read on dcregs.dc.gov · checked Oct 4, 2026 (official source, opens in a new tab)

The contract must include

Source: DC law

An estimate isn't the contract. Ask for all 9 in writing before you sign.

  • Written, signed, no blanksBefore any payment; a copy for you: show the rule's own words

    In the rule's words

    Be in writing before the contractor takes any payment, on a contract with every blank filled in, signed by you and by the contractor or its salesperson in at least three copies. You are entitled to a copy when you sign.

  • Name, address, phone & license #: show the rule's own words

    In the rule's words

    Show the contractor's name, address, telephone number and DC home improvement contractor license number, plus the name and license number of each salesperson who negotiated it.

  • Payment terms & dates: show the rule's own words

    In the rule's words

    State the payment terms and the approximate start and completion dates. Those dates can change only when the contractor accepts the contract or by written agreement.

  • Work & materials specifiedWhat work and materials are included: show the rule's own words

    In the rule's words

    Include, or refer to, specifications showing the work to be done and the materials to be used. The specifications cannot change without your written approval.

  • "Don't sign in blank" noticeIn bold, with your right to a copy: show the rule's own words

    In the rule's words

    Carry a bold notice (at least 10-point type) telling you not to sign in blank and that you are entitled to a copy when you sign.

  • Acceptance within 15 daysIf it binds only when they accept: show the rule's own words

    In the rule's words

    If the contract becomes binding only when the contractor accepts it, the contractor must send written acceptance or rejection within 15 days (unless you agree in writing to a later date) and must return your payment if it rejects the contract.

  • No waiver of DC's rulesAny waiver clause is void: show the rule's own words

    In the rule's words

    Contain no clause waiving DC's home improvement rules. Any such clause is void.

  • Buyers right to cancel noticeIf they sold it at or near your home: show the rule's own words

    In the rule's words

    If the job was sold at or near your home (and you did not ask for emergency work without delay), carry the 'BUYERS RIGHT TO CANCEL' notice and show the date you actually signed as the transaction date.

  • Receipts for paymentsUnless you pay by check or money order: show the rule's own words

    In the rule's words

    You must get a receipt for each payment made before the work is finished, unless you pay by check or U.S. Postal money order.

On signing day

  • No blank spaces
  • Keep a signed copy
  • Find the cancel notice
Sources23 official pages · checked Oct 4, 2026

Notes from our check

  • Home improvement rules come from 16 DCMR Chapter 8. Every section (800-815 and 899) was read on 2026-10-04 from the 'View text' files linked on the dcregs.dc.gov chapter page. Citations: $300 contract threshold and the definitions (899), unlicensed persons barred from taking payment before full completion (800.1), $25,000 bond (802.1), insurance (803), license number in advertising (807.1), contract contents (808), receipts (810). The cancellation right comes from D.C. Code § 28-3811 on code.dccouncil.gov. The OAG also posts that statute as a PDF, and its text matches.
  • No deposit cap: none of 16 DCMR 800-815 or 899, D.C. Code §§ 47-2883.01-.03, or § 28-3811 limits the size of a deposit. depositCap is null, so the app must not state a DC cap, and must not repeat a deposit percentage (such as one-third) taken from any non-government source, because none appears in the official text. The payment rules that do exist: only a licensed home improvement contractor (or its licensed salesperson) may require or accept any payment before all work is complete (800.1); no payment until the agreement is in a written contract (808.1); and a receipt is required for each payment made before completion unless paid by check or postal money order (810). DLCP's May 21, 2026 consumer release recommends a phased payment timeline (an initial deposit, then payments tied to completion deadlines) but states no limit. OAG's August 2023 consumer alert lists contractors who demand payment upfront as a red flag and also states no limit.
  • Cancellation: § 28-3811 has no dollar minimum and does not define 'business day', and the chapter's definitions section (§ 28-3802) does not define it either, so the app should not say whether Saturday counts. Until the contractor complies with the section, the buyer may cancel by any means (§ 28-3811(g)(3)). A seller who performed services before a cancellation is entitled to no compensation (§ 28-3811(i)(3)). Subsections (b) through (f) do not apply to public insurance adjusters (§ 28-3811(j)). The federal FTC Cooling-Off Rule (3 business days, home sales of $25 or more) also applies. This entry uses DC's own statute.
  • Open question on the cancellation right: the subchapter's scope section, D.C. Code § 28-3801, says the subchapter 'applies to actions to enforce rights arising from a consumer credit sale or a direct installment loan', while § 28-3811(a) itself expressly covers 'a cash sale or a consumer credit sale'. This entry follows § 28-3811's own text. For a cash sale the federal Cooling-Off Rule gives the same 3 business days in any case.
  • Licensing agency: the DCMR text still names the Director of the Department of Consumer and Regulatory Affairs. DLCP's contractor page now lists the Home Improvement Contractor license requirements: a $25,000 surety bond, a certificate of liability insurance, a police criminal history report and a home improvement contract. DLCP also says all Home Improvement Contractors, and General Contractors doing residential contracting, must designate at least one licensed Home Improvement Salesperson. OAG's 2023 consumer alert says the contractor should have a business license as a Home Improvement Contractor or General Contractor, which is why the plain text names both. 16 DCMR 803.2 sets insurance minimums of $50,000 for bodily injury or death of one person and $100,000 for more than one person in a single accident, and $10,000 for property damage. The regulation also allows $25,000 in cash, a certified check or federal bonds in place of the surety bond (802.4-802.5), and qualified self-insurance in place of the insurance (803.3).
  • Homeowner protections in the statute: a person harmed when a licensee breaks a DC law or regulation may sue the surety on the license bond, up to the bond amount (D.C. Code § 47-2883.02(c)). However, 16 DCMR 802.3 says the surety is not responsible for completing the work and is liable only for a homeowner's financial loss arising from a violation for which the contractor was subject to criminal prosecution. Where the owner or occupant has paid the person who contracted to perform or arrange the home improvement work, proof of that payment is a defense against, and voids, a mechanic's lien asserted under the DC lien statutes (§ 47-2883.03). The app should quote these narrowly rather than paraphrase them broadly.
  • 16 DCMR 806: contractors and salespersons dealing with homeowners away from the licensed premises must carry a DC-issued identification card. On request they must show it and hand over a business card or written note with their name and license number. 16 DCMR 811: contract and receipt forms must first be submitted to the agency for approval.
  • The dcregs chapter page shows a placeholder effective date (1/1/1900). The section files for 800, 802, 807, 815 and 899 carry SOURCE: Final Rulemaking, 56 DCR 3098 (April 24, 2009); the other section files show no source line, and no later amendment is shown. All files loaded on 2026-10-04. The old DLCP Home Improvement Contractor page (dlcp.dc.gov/node/1618836) returns 'page no longer available', so the current contractor page is used instead.
  • Basic business license: every person doing business in DC must hold a basic business license (D.C. Code § 47-2851.02(a)). So a trade in notCoveredTrades is not covered by the Home Improvement Contractor license, but that does not mean it needs no DC license at all. The app should not tell a homeowner that such a contractor needs no license.
  • Glaziers: D.C. Law 26-182 (D.C. Code §§ 47-2853.100-.100d, dated Sept. 25, 2026) creates licenses for glaziers and glazing contractors (aluminum windows, skylights, storefronts, architectural glass) under the Board of Industrial Trades. Rules are due within one year. windows_doors is left out of both trade lists because the program is not yet implemented and its reach into residential window replacement is unclear.
  • Left undetermined in tradeCoverage: painting, outdoor_landscaping, appliance-repair, window_treatments, smart-home and solar. The 899 definition neither names nor clearly excludes them. For example, appliances and household furnishings are excluded only when 'not made a part of the realty', and 'residential property' includes the grounds around the home.

General information from official District of Columbia sources. For your situation, ask the state's consumer protection office or a lawyer.

Check a quote